Fatwa on the go: Egypt’s Al-Azhar sets up shop in Cairo metro
While Egypt’s Al-Azhar says its recently installed kiosk offering fatwas to subway commuters is aimed at countering extremism, some see it as a sign of increasing religiosity in the country.
Commuters passing through Cairo's downtown Al Shohada metro station, one of the busiest stops on Cairo's subway system, are now being offered a new service along with the train rides: religious edicts or “fatwas” free of charge courtesy of Al-Azhar.
Seated behind a desk in a small kiosk that bears a sign reading “Fatwa Committee,” two on-duty clerics from Sunni Islam’s oldest and most prestigious institution give religious guidance and advice to commuters who seek them out in what the sheikhs say is an attempt “to counter extremism.”
